No matter how worried Ichiro was, there was nothing he could do to change the situation. All he could do was wait patiently. At least he was making some progress now. If he kept working at it, he would succeed eventually.
"Sigh~" Ichiro sighed again as he stood in front of the washstand. Urahara, who was getting dressed, shot him an eye roll.
"What are you sighing about now?"
"I got even more handsome. What should I do?"
"..." Urahara rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "Hurry up."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Honestly, you nag me every day. Don't you ever get tired of it?"
Urahara's eyebrow twitched. "Who told you to be so narcissistic every day?"
This was their daily routine before heading to class. If they ever skipped a day, they felt a little out of sorts...
To be honest, Ichiro could understand why so many people chose to graduate early. There really wasn't anything left for him to learn...
At school, the only thing Ichiro could still learn was higher-numbered Kido.
And when it came to Kido, Ichiro cared more about its principles and techniques. That was why, despite knowing only a handful of Kido spells, there were barely any instructors at the Academy who could teach him.
These days, the only reason he stayed at school was that it gave him more time to work on his own projects. He could certainly learn more advanced Kido if he graduated and joined a squad, but what mattered most to Ichiro right now was Reishi Alchemy. He was making rapid progress by linking his past-life Alchemy to the two Reishi Pistols, and there was no way he'd graduate and become a corporate drone at a time like this.
After leaving, the two of them waited for Yoruichi downstairs at the dorm, as usual, then headed to class together.
"By the way, do you want to go train at the base this weekend? It's been a while since we went together," Yoruichi asked Ichiro, tilting her head.
"This weekend? I can't this week. The captain's giving a lecture, and I want to attend. It's a rare opportunity."
"Rare? I'm pretty sure this is the third time this month. Four times last month, and we're only halfway through this month. What's so rare about that?" Urahara muttered from the side.
"Really? I haven't kept count. I heard it from the senior members of the squad. Apparently, the captain used to give a lecture only once every few years."
"Oh." × 2
"I wonder why this is happening. Why do you think the captain's suddenly been giving lectures so often?"
"Oh." × 2
"Aren't you curious?"
"Not really." × 2
"..."
Watching Ichiro get shut down, Urahara and Yoruichi exchanged a glance, struggling to hold back their laughter. As expected, other people's misery was their own happiness. Ichiro had been right about that!
Chatting as they walked, the three of them reached the classroom. Ichiro kept hinting to Urahara and Yoruichi, determined to show off today, no matter what!!!
"Urahara, have you heard? A genius is skipping grades to join our class. They say she's already mastered Shikai." Issho bounced over, her ponytail bobbing with every step and showing off all the energy of a young girl.
Unfortunately, she was still just a girl. With all that bouncing, it was only her ponytail that sprang around.
Ichiro sat back down at his desk, rested his head against the window, and said casually, "Shikai? Isn't that about the same as Urahara? There really are a lot of geniuses."
"No. Strictly speaking, she's more talented than I am. She's only been at the Academy for half a year, I think. It took me nearly a year to achieve Shikai. Interesting."
"There are more and more geniuses. It's getting harder to get by. Captain Unohana's been giving lectures more often lately, too. I wonder why."
'We're doomed!' × 2
Urahara and Yoruichi tensed up. Sure enough, Issho followed Ichiro's lead and asked about it.
"Why is that? My family says it's usually hard to catch one of the captain's lectures. They have plenty of other things to do, after all."
"Sigh~" × 2 Urahara and Yoruichi sighed at the same time, each pressing a hand to their forehead.
Ichiro, however, was delighted inside. Keeping his expression calm, he sighed and said, "I don't know either. The senior members say it used to happen once every few years. I don't know why, but after I joined, the lectures started happening more often. Sigh~ Why is that?"
"..." Issho's mouth twitched as she watched Ichiro act all troubled. She turned to look at Urahara and Yoruichi, who were sighing with their hands on their foreheads, and seemed to understand why they acted that way...
"Heh... heh-heh, m-maybe it's because..."
Before Issho could finish, Yoruichi immediately ushered her into the seat in front of Ichiro and said, "Class is about to start. Get ready."
Ichiro pouted, dropped his casual expression, pulled two notebooks from his desk, and began carefully calculating various figures.
A while later, the teacher for that class walked in with a girl with long, straight black hair. A tiny, delicate Zanpakuto hung at her waist. It wasn't an Asauchi, which meant she had the rare kind of Zanpakuto that remained permanently released.
"Go on, introduce yourself."
"Scratch, scratch~"
Instead of the clear voice he'd imagined, there was only a scratching sound. Ichiro looked up in surprise and saw the girl bent over a large notebook, writing something. His gaze fell on her Zanpakuto, and he raised an eyebrow.
'Hm? A Zanpakuto with a permanent Shikai?'
A Zanpakuto with a permanent Shikai had no release command and remained in its released state at all times. Such Zanpakuto were extremely rare.
The girl turned her notebook around. It contained her self-introduction.
'Hello, everyone. My name is Suzuran Yue. Please take care of me.'
"She can't speak, so please be understanding."
Hearing the teacher's words, Ichiro stared blankly at the girl's radiant smile. Quietly, he added another project to his research plans.
Unfortunately, there were always a few idiots who couldn't read the room...
"Hahaha! Since when could mutes become Soul Reapers? Hahaha... ha... h..."
Under the cold stares of everyone around him, he fell silent, lowering his head as resentment filled his eyes.
Ichiro frowned. He knew this guy. Like him, the guy had come from Rukongai, but his ranking was lower. A year had passed, and he still had the manners of a street thug—or maybe he'd never even considered changing.
Glancing at the girl standing at the front of the classroom with her head lowered, Ichiro looked coldly at the idiot. "If even she's better than you, then what kind of trash does that make you?"
"You..."
"What about me? Was Ichiro wrong? You can't even achieve Shikai, yet you swagger around all day. Aren't you ashamed?"
"..." Hearing the pointed remark from Urahara, Ichiro's mouth twitched. But given the circumstances, he decided to let it slide for now. He'd show him the benefits of being a Good Samaritan that night!
"Enough. Stop arguing. Sugou, get out. If this happens again—or if I hear any unsavory rumors around the school—you can go straight back to Rukongai!" The teacher stared coldly at Sugou's contorted expression and said sternly, "Go ahead and test whether I have that authority!"
Before you continue